Closed drug containers such as vial bottles generally contain a powdered medicine. When administering the medicine to a patient, a dissolving solution is injected into the vial bottle to dissolve the medicine and obtain a drug solution, and then the drug solution is taken out of the vial bottle. In general, the taken-out drug solution is temporarily accumulated in a drug solution bag.
The medicine contained in the vial bottle may be a medicine designated as, for example, a dangerous drug such as an anticancer drug. It is necessary to prevent such a situation that a drug solution including such a dangerous medicine leaks and is attached to a finger or the like of an operator, or that the operator inhales vapor thereof. Accordingly, the above-described series of operations of dissolving the medicine in the vial bottle, and transporting the drug solution to the drug solution bag are desired to be carried out using a “closed system device” from which the drug solution is unlikely to leak.
An example of such a closed system device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The device of Patent Document 1 (that is referred to as “medical connector” in Patent Document 1) is provided with two connectors to which a vial bottle and a drug solution bag are respectively connected, and with a port to which a syringe is connected. The device is further provided with a cock for switching flow channels between the vial bottle, the drug solution bag, and the syringe. The vial bottle, the drug solution bag, and the syringe are connected to the device. A dissolving solution for dissolving a medicine is stored in the drug solution bag in advance. By operating the cock to switch the flow channels appropriately, it is possible to transport the dissolving solution in the drug solution bag to the vial bottle via the syringe, dissolve the medicine in the vial bottle to obtain a drug solution, and then transport the drug solution in the vial bottle to the drug solution bag via the syringe. The vial bottle is replaced by a new vial bottle and the same operation is performed, if the need arises. Accordingly, drug solutions that are obtained by dissolving medicines in the required number and types of vial bottles can be accumulated in common drug solution bags.
The mouth (opening) of the vial bottle is generally sealed by a plug (rubber plug). The connector of the device to which the vial bottle is connected is provided with a puncture needle that has a sharp tip and is to puncture this plug. The drug solution remaining in the flow channel of the puncture needle may leak to the outside from the opening, on a tip side, of the flow channel of the puncture needle after the vial bottle and the connector are separated from each other.
Patent Document 2 discloses a flexible cover (shield) configured to cover a rod-shaped male member (male luer) that is to be inserted into a female member (needle-less port). The cover is provided with a compressible and deformable outer circumferential wall in the shape of an accordion, a head portion that is provided at one end of the outer circumferential wall and into which the tip of the male member is inserted, and a base portion that is provided at the other end of the outer circumferential wall. The base portion of the cover is fixed to a base substrate that holds the male member. The female member is provided with a partition wall member (generally referred to as “septum”) that is made of an elastic material such as rubber in which a linear slit (incision) is formed. When connecting the male member and the female member to each other, the male member penetrates the cover, and is further inserted into the slit of the septum. At this time, the outer circumferential wall of the cover is elastically compressed. When the male member has been separated from the female member, the outer circumferential wall of the cover reverts to an initial shape, and covers the male member.
By applying the cover of Patent Document 2 to the puncture needle of the above-described device, it is conceivable that a drug solution can be prevented from leaking from the puncture needle to the outside after the vial bottle and the connector are separated from each other.